What they do: ChatterBlock is a hyper-local social media site, helping to connect parents with local community resources and opportunities. You can find, for example, a ballet class with a local Victoria instructor or KinderGym for your toddler at the Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre. Nice site and a great idea.

Why we like them: When I was young, my parents made me do chores when I hung around the house complaining of summer boredom. Fast-forward to the future. ChatterBlock is showing Victorians that there is always something fun and social going on in this town. The site isn’t only useful and fun to use, but they are also helping promote a lot of great local businesses, services, and community events. And they get your kids out of the house which is cool too.

The digital marketer says: Hyper-local web businesses like ChatterBlock are where it is at! Over the past few years, the digital marketing industry has seen the power of combining the reach of social networks with local, physical communities. Watch for more innovative companies like ChatterBlock, showing the power of the global web gone local.

What they do: SendtoNews is an internet-based service that helps connect content creators and media, helping to get news-worthy stories into news rooms without the traditional slow, expensive PR agency. Upload your story, images, audio, or videos. And SendtoNews helps to optimize your content, making sure your content has a high chance of being picked up by major media stations. This is next-generation PR.

Why we like them: Two reasons. First, they offer a performance-pricing model. As digital marketers, we appreciate stuff like that. Second, our agency often does online PR for start-ups and they don’t have deep budgets to get their message out there. Companies like SendtoNews are making it easier for even small companies to get the coverage they deserve.

The digital marketer says: This company is going to explode. Viral campaigns and content marketing have all shown that awesome content spins around the globe. And traditional PR methods are just too slow to keep up with the web. This technology gives everyone an equal chance at having their story told. . . fast. Plus, you can upload a news-story from your iPhone. From your iPhone!

What they do: Terapeak helps eBay sellers make a ton of money, giving them sophisticated analytics, optimization advice, and cool market research tools such as competitor analysis, profitable trends, and reports to find the most profitable eBay product niches.

Why we like them: As a digital marketing agency, we obviously love analytics, custom reporting, conversion optimization, and advanced market research tools. And Terapeak’s software is filled with advanced tools and really intelligent analysis software. Especially, the profitable trend research tool.

TeraPeak

The digital marketer says: Tools rule! If you really want to sell online, you need to understand and test different pricing, analyze your competitors, and capitalize on trends. Companies like Terapeak are showing that smart data and actionable insights are what really drives the bottom line.

What they do: Ever wanted to be a comic-book artist? With PixTON, you can create amazing, colourful, and professional looking comic book characters, scenes, and stories with innovative click-n-drag website. From characters, props, speech bubbles, and dynamic backgrounds. This is a seriously cool website.

Why we like them: It was always my dream to be a comic book artist. But even with an artist Father, drawing just wasn’t in my future. With PixTON, anyone can create comic books. Pretty fun stuff.

PixTON

The digital marketer says: A good product is the best marketing. With PixTON, the product is amazing and highly sharable. You put this in front of eyeballs with the Google Display Network or a Facebook campaign and it’s hard not to imagine someone wanting to try it out.